It’s a Virtual Baby Shower!!

A fellow mommy-blogger and friend, iMommy, is having a baby in about three weeks. Or less. Babies are hard to predict. This will be baby number two for her, and as many of you know, baby number two (and subsequent babies) often miss out on the fun of a baby shower. Which is kind of weird, because even though there may be several things that can be handed down or reused, you still need a lot of new “stuff” for the new baby. The new mommy is also just as excited for each subsequent baby (well, maybe not quite as much at baby number ten) to come and is probably even more in need of a celebration since she’s going through this pregnancy with one (or more) other children at home to care for.

Several other “mommy-bloggers” and I decided that we didn’t want iMommy to miss out on any of the fun, but we had a dilemma. We’re scattered all across the U.S. Celebrating in person wasn’t going to work. So, we decided to do a virtual shower through our blogs. Today, we’re all blogging a piece of baby/mommy advice for iMommy and sending her good wishes and virtual hugs. The good news about this type of shower is that there are no ridiculous games to play, and iMommy doesn’t have to suffer through the “guess-how-many-toilet-paper-squares-it-would-take-to-get-around-the-belly” tradition. (Unless you want to do it on your own, iMommy. You could measure yourself and then have a guessing game at your blog site. Ha!). So, iMommy, this blog-fest is for you! You have some gifts on the way, and your cake should arrive today or tomorrow. We all love you!

The best “parenting advice” I ever received was from a friend and mentor in grad school who reminded me that if I didn’t take care of myself first, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my baby. This was especially meaningful advice for me because Jenna was still in the NICU, and I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I think that it’s wonderful advice for any parent-to-be, though. Too often, we don’t take the time that we need for ourselves. Time to renew and recharge in order to be the best parents we can be. When I start to feel like things are out of control or overwhelming, I usually realize that it’s been too long since I made some “me time.” Time all to myself to do something for me. Sometimes, the best thing is to just be. Grab a coffee, sit on a park bench and let my mind get quiet. Heaven. Sadly, it doesn’t happen often enough. Try to do better than I do! {wink}

On the lighter side, I found some funny tips at this site. Here are a few of examples:

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems: First buy an octopus and a bag made out of loose mesh. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this: all morning.

Go to your local supermarket: Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a preschool child — a fully-grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat. Buy your week’s groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goats eat or destroy. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Hollow out a melon. Make a small hole in the side. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure a lot of it falls on the floor. You are now ready to feed a 12-month-old baby.

Practice repeating everything you say 5 times (Or, practice having your spouse/partner ask “Why?” after every single thing you say).

If you have some parenting advice (or humor) for iMommy, please leave it in the comments section here. Be sure to also head over to her site to give her your own good wishes and some bloggy love.

Don’t let the party end here! That would be boring. Be sure to take some time to check out the wisdom and humor from the other bloggers participating in the shower, by visiting these links:

Perfect. Something I need to remember more. Now, I think I’m headed out to get a coffee and sit on a lovely sunny park bench for a few hours. Okay, maybe not right this minute, but I’m going to work it in this week!